West Virginia drivers must buy auto insurance in two different forms. The two types of auto insurance drivers are required to purchase are bodily injury insurance and property damage liability insurance. With a bodily injury insurance policy in place, drivers in West Virginia are covered when they accidentally injure someone while driving on the road. Property damage insurance, on the other hand, covers the insured driver when he or she damages property while in an accident.
The regulations put into place by West Virginia automobile insurance are simple to understand and to follow. In a nutshell, the insurance company takes financial responsibility for the drivers it insures. As such, it pays for the expenses the insured driver creates when causing an accident.
The liability limits of West Virginia auto insurance are 20/40/10. This means insurance companies in West Virginia must provide their clients with insurance coverage of at least $20,000 per person for bodily injuries. In addition, insurance companies in Virginia must offer $40,000 of bodily injury insurance per accident. Furthermore, West Virginia drivers are required to carry at least $10,000 for property damage insurance.
Bodily Injury Liability, or BI insurance for short, is a type of insurance that must be in place with a minimum of $20,000 of coverage per person and $40,000 per accident. With this insurance in place, the insurance company pays when the insured driver causes an accident that leads to the personal injury or death of someone else. This includes other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians that might have been involved in the accident.
Property Damage, which is known as PD for short, must also be in place with a minimum of $20,000 of coverage per accident. With the minimum amount of Property Damage insurance in place, the insured driver is adequately covered in the event that he or she causes an accident and any property needs to be repaired or replaced.
In order for drivers in West Virginia to register a vehicle, they must be able to present proof of insurance. West Virginia law also requires that drivers have insurance in place or be able to pay for damages out of their own pockets.
There are many methods a West Virginia driver can use in order to prove that he or she has the proper amount of insurance coverage in place. The easiest way to do this is to simply show the temporary insurance card that was issued by the insurance company.
A West Virginia driver may also prove that the proper amount of coverage is in place with a premium receipt or with the help of an insurence binder, which must be issued by an authorized insurance agent in order to be valid. A current declarations page taken from the liability insurance policy may be used as well. Or, the driver may present the actual policy as proof of coverage instead. A certificate of liability insurance, which is a document that is issued from an authorized agent or an insurer, may also be used to prove that you have coverage as well.
If a driver in West Virginia has purchased a new vehicle within the past 60 days, he or she can prove insurance coverage by showing that there was coverage for the vehicle being replaced. When renting a vehicle, West Virginia drivers must present a copies of their rental agreement in order to show that the vehicle has adequate coverage.